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Which house would YOU buy? Compare 2 bungalows in SE London
For a bit of fun, and potentially to help me make up my mind, I would appreciate MSE member's thoughts on 2 properties. I'm a FTB buyer in the UK, and experiencing the wrath of the London housing market. Any properties in good condition have 30 viewings within 2 days and are selling above asking price at least in the areas…
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Letting agent fees
Someone has said to me that letting agent fees have a cap set by the body they are a member of and they aren't supposed to charge more than this. However they do but then reduce it if someone points this out to them! Is this correct? Where can I find more info? I was under the impression that most were unregulated.
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Renting a 1/2bedroom flat
I am planning to rent a 1 or 2 bedroom flat (was originally looking for a 1 bedroom but some of the 2 bedroom ones are cheaper or the same price!!) and have been thinking about what costs I need to plan for: New costs: - Rent - Water - Electric - Gas (though a lot seem to have electric heating which is more expensive?) -…
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Rent up 11% in one year!
Our tenancy is due for renewal in a couple of months. The LL is putting the rent up £100 per month.. that's an 11% increase which I feel is a bit steep. I know the LL can put the rent up as much as he likes as its a private property, but are these kind of increases the norm? I see no justification for the increase,…
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Renting out our house and getting another mortgage for a bigger house
Hi, if anyone has any advice Id appreciate it. We looked into moving to a bigger house but although we could double the value of what we would own, we wouldn't be getting much more house for the money and it would mean having massive mortgage repayments and going back to not having as much cash spare. So I thought about…
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FTB Our Offer Accepted...
Hi Everyone, I have read countless helpful info on all these threads but hoped to get some help to tailor it to our situation. We are nervous FTB'S in Manchester area, we saw a house 5 minutes away from my elderly parents which was perfect for us, it was on the market for £156,000 but we've negotiated to meet at £147,000…
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Inheritance tax and deductions when relating to property
Hi, so my question is... If i make improvements to my Grandfather's house, when I inherit it can I use receipts to prove I own certain things i.e. upvc windows and thus exclude their price from the value of the house and reduce my inheritance tax. If so, would this apply to such things as wallpaper and fixings so the…
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Land Registry websites
I guess this is a question for the LR rep who often posts here. Googling Land Registry the first three (sponsored) hits are to third parties who all begin their web descriptions with Land Registry. To the uninformed, these are masquerading as the real site, and on my laptop with the extremely pale violet google are using…
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Changing bank rate during buying house
I'm in the middle of buying house, got my mortgage approved, just signing papers for solicitors then waiting to complete. I realised the bank I am getting mortgage has released the same mortgage I have but it's now about 0.4% cheaper. Am I able to update my mortgage to this rate even though I have been approved a mortgage…
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Completed property Nov 30th - Land registry still not updated
Hi All, Just wondering how long it should take the land registry to update the deeds? I've just repurchased the deeds via landregistry.gov.uk and they are still showing as the previous owner. I completed on the property on Nov 30th 2012 so it seems odd that it's still not been updated - is it something I should be nudging…
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FTB, unsure how mortgages work.
Hiya, I received a call from my Dad the other day who said that my parents would like to help me and my husband out with a deposit for a flat so that we can pay the mortgage rather than rent and have nothing at the end of it. We're looking at about £100k or less and we're viewing some properties next weekend. I've checked…
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How to proceed
Hi all, Just looking for some advice on how we should proceed regarding an issue we have with the property we are hoping to purchase. Had our offer accepted last Saturday, mortgage is progressing and appointed a solicitor who is progressing with the paperwork. We are having a full structural survey done (not booked yet).…
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Problem with someone else's builder
HI I am not sure this is the correct place to post this, but here goes. I rent my flat from a company who sold the flat above mine to a private buyer. The buyer of the flat upstairs have had extensive work done on their flat and are now having a en-suite bathroom put in. This latest work is un-related to the original work…
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FTBS - How many viewings before finding property?
Last night OH and I sat down and worked out how many properties we've viewed and worked out we're upto 23. :eek: 1 property we put offers on, but lost to cash buyers. 1 property we liked alot, but walked away due to mineshaft. I never thought we'd be looking for this long with so many properties, we're not particularly…
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Private rented shared drive
Need help :( moved to a private rented property 2 years ago advertised through the estate agents as having off road parking on a private drive. Turns out from day 1 its a shared drive and that the neighbours have no intention of letting us use it. After lots of arguing being blocked in etc we decided just to not use it at…
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Service charge for flat - who pays it?
I'm considering purchasing a flat and renting it out. However, there is a service charge associated with the flat and I'd like to know who usually picks up this bill. Is it usually payable by the tenant as a separately listed amount (like utility bills, council tax etc), or is it the landlord who pays it (i.e. landlord…
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Second bedroom more box room-surely that's not right?
Having fallen in love with the fireplace of this two bed property I was impressed with everything but the second bedroom which was around 5ft by6ft, it's used as nursery but really can it be called second bedroom as u can't even fit single bed in there. I'm disappointed because I really like this place but for the 210k…
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Survey shows suspected dry rot
We are in the process of buying a 1940s ex local authority property. We knew there would be issues and have budgeted for this. The survey shows suspected dry rot though. How do we get an understanding of how extensive it is, and therefore how much it would cost to put right? I'm guessing that is that this would involve…
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The end is in sight...
Hi All, We are due to exchange contract next week, either tue or weds. We are in a chain, (first time buyers buying the property below us, we are buying a property from people that are moving to a new build) Is it possible to complete on friday? We are having a mortgage with nationwide, the people buying ours are C&G,…
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10% deposit at exchange of contracts Q
Think I've either cocked up or I'm just confusing myself and stressing out here! I've accepted an offer on my house and these are first time buyers and all seems good, I've found a house (New Build) I like and reserved a plot this weekend for £500, Looks at the form I have signed it says builders 10% deposit required at…
